Toe- or heel-holding for safety ski bindings

ABSTRACT

A soleholder is movably connected to a carrying member with a shock absorber interposed. The carrying member is movably mounted on a part of the device that is fixed to the ski. When the device is in operative condition, the carrying member is immovably held by a locking device. The locking device comprises a spring, which is nonadjustably mounted in or on its holder or is at least sealed in position when it has been adjusted to determine a desired release hardness. The shock absorber comprises readily adjustable adjusting means to vary the damping.

Inventor Hannes Marker Hauptstrasse 51-53, Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany Appl. No. 871,909 Filed Oct. 28, 1969 Patented Dec. 7, 1971 Priority Nov. 12, 1968 Germany ll 18 08 466.7

TOE- OR HEEL-HOLDING FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,644 9/1961 Beyl 280/1 1.35 T 3,027,173 3/1962 Beyl 280/11.35T 3,430,971 3/1969 Berlenbach 280/l 1.35 T 3,476,401 11/1969 Unger 280/1 1.35T 3,529,844 9/1970 Salomon 2210/1135 T Primary Examiner- Leo Friaglia Assistant Examiner- Robert R. Song Auorney- Fleit, Gipple 8L Jacobson 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs. ABSTRACT: A soleholder is movably connected to a carrying member with a shock absorber interposed. The carrying 1U.S.Cl 280/11.35T member is movably mounted on a p of the device that is Int Cl A63c 9/00 fixed to the ski. When the device is in operative condition, the Field 280 1 35 carrying member is immovably held by a locking device. The T locking device Comprises a p g which is nonadjustably mounted in or on its holder or is at least sealed in position when it has been adjusted to determine a desired release hardness. The shock absorber comprises readily adjustable adjusting means to vary the damping.

75 l l 1 I A I .PATENTED nEc 1m SHEET 1 OF 3 Fig.2

INVENTOR HANNES MARKER ATTORNEYS PATENTEUDET. H971 3.625.536 v SHEET 2 [1F 3 TOE- OR HEEL-HOLDING FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS Toeand heel-holding devices for safety ski bindings have a dual function. They should establish a sufficiently firm connection between the skiing boot and the skier's leg, on the one hand, and the ski, on the other hand. In the second place, they should release the skiing boot and with it the skier's leg in response to the action of a force which is dangerous to the skiers leg and is maintained for more than a short time.

All toeand heel-holding devices which have been previously disclosed accomplish this object more or less unsatisfactorily. This need not be due to the device per se but to the fact that the release hardness, i.e., the force required for a release, can be varied by the skier when he adjusts a spring. It has been found in practice that most skiers tend to set their binding to an excessively high-release hardness, particularly if the binding is susceptible to shock. With a few exceptions, those bindings which are not susceptible to shock have the disadvantage that they may cause the skiing boot to be seized on the ski in an oblique position. This will in any case result in a fall so that the skier will tend to select also for such bindings a setting which he deems to be better and correct although the practice is wrong and dangerous.

Whereas a skilled dealer of sports articles will set the safety bindings bought by a skier to the release hardness which is appropriate for such skier in view of his skeleton structure and the load required to break a bone, this fact will not afford absolute safety in view of what has been previously said because the release hardness may be readjusted and the skier or another person may intentionally or unintentionally perform such readjustment.

The present invention relates to toeor heel-holding devices for safety ski bindings, which devices comprise a soleholder that is movably connected to a carrying member with a shock absorber interposed, the carrying member being movably mounted on a part of the device that is fixed to the ski and when the device is in operative condition being immovably held by a locking device. It is an object of the invention to improve and design such a device so that an adjustment of the release hardness to a value which would be dangerous to the skiers leg is avoided with virtually absolute safety.

This object is accomplished according to the invention in that the locking device comprises a spring, which is nonadjustably mounted in or on its holder or is at least sealed in position when it has been adjusted to determine a desired release hardness, and the shock absorber comprises readily accessible adjusting means to vary the damping.

A device in which a soleholder acts on a locking device with a shock absorber interposed is already known as a heel-holding device. In that device, however, the release hardness can be readily adjusted whereas the damping cannot be adjusted.

A prior application of the inventor relates to a toe-holding device for safety ski bindings, in which device the carrying member for the soleholder is connected by a shock absorber to a part of the device that is fixed to the ski, whereas with the device in operative condition the soleholder mounted on the carrying member is held by a locking device against movement relative to the carrying member. The teaching of the present invention can obviously be applied also to toeor heelholding devices embodying that design.

Embodiments of toeand heel-holding devices which embody the invention and are intended for use with safety ski bindings will now be described more fully and by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which FIG. I is a central longitudinal sectional view showing a toeholding device,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken through the toe-holding device according to line IIII in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing the device in a condition in which the soleholder is loaded transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view showing the toe-holding device of FIG. 3 in an unlocked condition,

FIG. 5 is a central longitudinal sectional view showing a heel-holding device,

FIG. 6 is a sectional view which is similar to that of FIG. 5 but shows the device in a condition in which the soleholder is loaded transversely to the surface of the ski, and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view which is similar to FIG. 5 but shows the toe-holding device in a released condition.

The toe-holding device shown in FIGS; I to 4 and embodying the invention comprises essentially a baseplate I, which is adapted to be screwed to the ski, a carrying member 2, which is held on the baseplate, and a soleholder 3, which is mounted on the carrying member. By means of a dovetail guide (see FIG. I), the soleholder is mounted on the carrying member 2 for a slidable movement parallel to the surface of the ski. The soleholder is provided with a bore 4, which extends parallel to the dovetail guide and which is screw threaded at both ends, which are closed by respective screw plugs 5 and 6, which serve as spring abutments for one end of each of the respective helical compression springs 7, 8. At their other end, these two helical compression springs bear on an abutment 9, which extends through an elongated hole 10 of the soleholder 3 and is secured to the carrying member 2.

The carrying member 2 is rotatably mounted on a vertical pivot pin 11, which is riveted to the baseplate l. A screw 12 is in threaded engagement with the free end portion of the pin to lock the carrying member against displacement. To lock the carrying member against a pivotal movement on the pivot pin, a locking device is provided, which is formed by a detent hole 13 in the baseplate I, a detent ball I4, a helical compression spring 15 and a screw plug 16. Parts I4-I6 are accommodated in a bore 17 of the carrying member 2, which bore is provided at its top end with screw threads for threaded engagement with the plug 16. An access to the plug I6 and the screw I2 is normally prevented by a cover cap 18.

FIG. 2 shows the toe-holding device in its normal position. FIG. 3 shows the device in a condition in which the soleholder has been displaced along the carrying member 2 against the force of one damping spring 8 by a force acting transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski. In the instantaneous condition shown on the drawing, the force is not so large and/or has not acted for a sufficiently long time to open the device. FIG. 4 shows the device in an open position. This opening is effected after a transverse displacement of the soleholder in response to a sufficiently large force which acts transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ski and occurs during twisting falls. In this case, the force of the detent spring I5 is overcome. When the interlock has been eliminated, the carrying member is freely rotatable on the pivot pin II and the relaxation of the damping spring 8 results in a return movement of the soleholder 3 to its normal position relative to the carrying member 2. 7

As has been stated above, the cover cap I8 normally prevents an access to the screw plug I6, which is operable to vary the release hardness. It is an object of the invention to prevent such access so that the skier himself or a different person cannot change the release hardness of the toe-holding device. The release hardness is adjusted once and for all by the sports articles dealer in view of the skeleton structure of the skier and of the load required to break a bone. This adjustment may be effected when the binding is being sold. The dealer or his employee then applies the cover cap 18, which is suitably sealed in position. The skier may then rest assured that his holding device is adjusted to the individually appropriate release hardness as long as the seal has not been destroyed. Hence, the skier cannot adjust the release hardness but can vary the damping in that he screws in the screw plugs 5 and 6 to a larger or smaller depth to vary the initial stress of the damping springs 7, 8. This enables an adjustment of the toe-holding device in accordance with his skiing skill and the prevailing snow conditions to enable an optimum control of the ski. This adjustment cannot result in a setting with which the force required for a release is larger than the load required to break a bone.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show a heel-holding device which embodies the features of the present invention. This device is a so-called step-in binding, in which the soleholder is automatically moved to its locking position when a skiing boot has been introduced. This device comprises a baseplate 21, which in a manner not shown is directly or indirectly held on the ski 20. The baseplate carries two vertical sidewalls 22, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the ski. Only one of these sidewalls is seen in the central longitudinal sectional view. Together with the sidewalls and a top wall 23, the baseplate forms a housing which is open at the ends and partly at the top. A horizontal transverse pivot 24 is mounted in the sidewalls 22. A substantially U-shaped carrying member 25 is pivoted to that transverse pivot and has limbs, which are mounted at their free end on the transverse pivot. Only one limb is apparent in the central longitudinal sectional view and the web 26 of the U-shaped carrying member is shown in section. The carrying member thus constitutes a pivoted lever. A soleholder 27 is mounted on the free end of the carrying member for a sliding movement at right angles to the plane of FIG. 5. Only one half of the soleholder is shown in the sectional view. That soleholder is a shaped member, which at its lower end consists of a closing pedal 28. A screw 30 is rotatably and axially nondisplaceably mounted in a horizontal transverse wall 29 of the soleholder.

The upper end of the screw is freely rotatably mounted in a crosspiece 31 of the soleholder. The screw carries a nut 32, which is nonrotatably mounted in the soleholder and moves upwardly or downwardly in response to a rotation of the screw 30. The nut serves also as an abutment for a helical compression spring 33, which at its other end acts on the web 26 of the carrying member. That web is provided with a bore, through which the screw 30 extends freely.

At least one of the limbs of the carrying member 25 has a depending extension 34, which consists of a locking hook and forms part of a locking device. The extension cooperates with a locking roller 35, which is freely rotatably mounted at the free end of a pivoted lever 36. The pivoted lever is mounted for a free pivotal movement on a pivot 37, which is secured in the sidewalls 22. The pivoted lever is biased by a helical compression spring 38, which acts on the lever by a pressure member 39. The spring and the pressure member are mounted in a bore of a bearing bracket 40, which is held on the baseplate 21. At its right-hand end in the drawing, that bore has an internal screw thread and is closed by a screw plug 41, which forms an abutment for the spring.

The housing formed by the baseplate 21, the sidewalls 22 and the top wall 23 is closed at one end to a major extent by the soleholder 27 and at its other end by a cover cap 42 so that the screw plug 41 is not readily accessible.

FIG. shows the heel-holding device in a closed, operative condition. FIG. 6 shows the device in a condition which oocurs during skiing when the soleholder 27 is subjected to a force that acts approximately at right angles to the surface of the ski and forces the same upwardly on the carrying member 25 against the force of the damping spring 33. FIG. 7 shows the heel-holding device in an open condition, which is automatically assumed when a force which is dangerous for the skiers leg has acted on the soleholder for more than a short time. Such large force may occur, e.g., during a forward fall. In this case, the force of the detent spring 38 will be overcome so that the carrying member 25 and the soleholder 27 can perform an upward pivotal movement about the pivot 24 in the clockwise sense in the drawing. When the interlock has been eliminated, the damping spring 33 relaxes to return the soleholder 27 to its normal position on the carrying member 25.

In this embodiment too, the cover cap normally prevents an access of the screw plug 41 which serves to adjust the release hardness. It is an object of the present invention to prevent such access. When the release hardness has been set, the cover cap 42 is fixed to the housing and sealed in position, as in the toe-holding device described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The skier can now only vary the damping by an adjustment of the screw 30.

The two embodiments which have been described by way of example show how the invention can be embodied in a simple manner. These embodiments are considered only examples because the invention can be embodied in various other forms. For instance, the screw plugs acting on the detent spring may be directly sealed in position or suitable springs may be selected so that an adjustment need not be enabled.

What is claimed is:

1. A toeor heel-holding device for safety ski bindings comprising support means mounted to a ski, a carrying member pivotally mounted to said support means, a soleholder slidably mounted to said carrying member and a shock absorber carried by said soleholder, said shock absorber being adjustable and comprising readily accessible means for adjusting its damping force, said carrying member being held in a fixed position by an adjustable locking device when said holding device is in an operative position, lead-sealed covering means for said locking device after adjustment to a given force of release.

2. A holding device for safety ski bindings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking device is covered by a closure member to seal it in a nonadjustable manner.

3. A holding device for safety ski bindings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shock absorber comprises a spring abutment, spring means cooperating with said spring abutment and spring-adjusting means. 

1. A toe- or heel-holding device for safety ski bindings comprising support means mounted to a ski, a carrying member pivotally mounted to said support means, a soleholder slidably mounted to said carrying member and a shock absorber carried by said soleholder, said shock absorber being adjustable and comprising readily accessible means for adjusting its damping force, said carrying member being held in a fixed position by an adjustable locking device when said holding device is in an operative position, lead-sealed covering means for said locking device after adjustment to a given force of release.
 2. A holding device for safety ski bindings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said locking device is covered by a closure member to seal it in a nonadjustable manner.
 3. A holding device for safety ski bindings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said shock absorber comprises a spring abutment, spring means cooperating with said spring abutment and spring-adjusting means. 